Why we can’t have nice things, Part 532: Our electricity situation
Should you get paid for NOT using electricity at the same rate you pay to use electricity? The answer is more important than you think.
Category: Jenergy
Jenergy: It’s not that they hate science, it’s that they love money.
Last week, you may have noticed that the House passed a flurry of bills slamming the EPA. Why does the House hate science and nature so hard? I’ll give you my take on what’s going on here. As far as I can tell, this all begins with air quality standards set by the EPA. The Clean […]
Jen reads the Secret Science bill so you don’t have to
President Obama is inking up his ‘veto’ stamp and practicing his WTF face this week. Some of that was for the utterly useless Keystone XL bill, of course, but he’s also staying in veto-ready shape for the three EPA bills currently making their way through the House. One has passed the House already, HR 4012, also […]
Cranky Jen is Cranky about This Today: H.R. 3 passes the House
The House voted today in favor of a bill that would eliminate the permitting process for the Keystone XL pipeline (H.R. 3). Why is Jen cranky about this? 1. It waives all permitting requirements for a foreign company’s project. We don’t do legislation-level permit-waivers for domestic companies. In short, we don’t do legislation “about” single corporations […]
“Free Market” is an Oxymoron: Parity at the Party for Renewables
Libertarians, listen up! I’m preachin’ to y’all today. Renewable energy sources are not competitive with fossil fuels in the US. This is undeniable, but also batshit crazy. I want to talk about one way that government policy discourages the development of renewable technology. And it’s not subsidies for fossil fuels, so don’t roll your eyes […]
Week in Jenergy: Y’all, Fisker is Nothing like Solyndra, so Quit It
This week in Jenergy, we’re eagerly awaiting Senate confirmation of Ernest Moniz as the new energy secretary, in part because we love his hair: What to know and probably immediately forget about Moniz: He’s an MIT prof, and director of the Energy Initiative there. He served as Undersecretary of the DOE under Clinton, so in […]
Part 3: The Crack Spread (yes, really)
In Parts 1 and 2, we learned about commodities and derivative markets. Today, we’ll talk about a different kind of natural gas trading, and, as promised, we’ll talk about the crack spread and why you love it. Hedging Further: OTC trading and commodity swaps Another type of risk-hedging is achieved through OTC (over-the-counter) trading. These are trades […]
Part 2: Risk-Hedging: Futures and derivatives
In Part 1, we learned about what affects spot prices for natural gas, and discovered the need to hedge against future risk in natural gas markets. How does one do that? One should probably not hide one’s cash in one’s mattress–it’s not doing you any good there! Hedging one’s Bets: Natural Gas is a Lot Like […]
Part 1: Spot Prices and Market Basics [Series: Natural Gas Investment]
You care about natural gas prices. Probably because you suspect, correctly, that they affect your paycheck somehow. You buy natural gas, and so does your employer, so they getcha coming and going. But you’re used to that, as a good, hard-working American. You’re always taking it somewhere, somehow. In fact, I’m going to tell you […]
Jenergy: Week ending April 10, 2013.
I know you’ve been champing at the bit to learn about what’s interesting in the world of energy and energy policy this week, so I’m delaying the advent of my weekend Jenanigans to give you what you want. I’m an altruist like that. So let’s do this! The Sub-subcommittee on the Affairs of Subcommittees SubcommitteeThis […]
